irclib function

Synopsis

$irclib()

Technical

Returns the IRC library directory selected when the client starts. No arguments are required; supplied arguments are ignored. The value remains unchanged for the running client.

At startup, the IRCLIB environment variable overrides the compiled installation directory. EPIC appends / to that environment value, even if it already ends with /; the normal compiled value also has a trailing slash. The path is copied without expanding ~, resolving it to an absolute path, or checking that it exists. An empty environment value therefore produces /.

This directory supplies the %s portion of the default set load_path, whose standard template is ~/.epic:~/.irc:%s/script:.. A separate IRCPATH environment variable overrides the whole startup load path without changing $irclib(). Later changes to load_path or to environment variables through setenv likewise do not change the stored library directory.

Practical

Use this to locate installed scripts independently of a user's current script search path. The directory is configurable by the user, so it does not guarantee that a file is the originally installed version. The function returns the selected runtime path, without separately exposing the compiled default when overridden.

Returns

The stored directory string, without added quoting or validation. The query produces no diagnostic and performs no filesystem operation.

Examples

load $irclib()/script/motd

This explicitly selects the motd script beneath the chosen library directory instead of searching load_path. The extra slash is harmless for an ordinary Unix directory path; loading still depends on the file existing and being readable. The load filename parser does not support quote grouping, so a library path containing spaces cannot be passed this way reliably.

Source

Registration and direct return: source/functions.c. Startup IRCLIB and IRCPATH handling: source/irc.c. Default search-path template: include/config.h. Compiled directory definition: source/Makefile.in.